Cultural consumption and social identities (a study of the museum’s image through the eyes of visitors)

Abstract

This article describes the study of the relationship between the practices of cultural consumption and the processes of constructing territorial, professional and other social identities. The studyexplores materials of an empirical sociological study conducted in the summer and autumn of 2022 "The image of the historical and architectural museum" Stroganov's Chambers"in Usolye through the eyes of visitors." The study found that pensioners are more likely to demonstrate a behavior model that fits into the formulas of “status high consumption” and “heritage tourism”, while young people are mainly driven by the values of the “culture of curiosity”, and middle-aged persons feature both motives. The article interprets the results obtained through the theory of social identities and conclude that the motivation for visiting museums and the choice of cultural consumption practices are directly related to the professional, territorial and generational identities of the informants. This conclusion allows us to see new promising formats for working with museum visitors.